WAYNE MADSEN REPORT

http://waynemadsenreport.com/

March 3, 2006 -- The Israeli, Dubai, Chertoff connection -- its just the tip of the Russian-Israeli mafia and "Al Qaeda" iceberg. Michael Brown, the former head of FEMA, deserves credit for blowing the whistle on the "agenda" of Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff. For years, a handful of prosecutors, FBI agents, and investigative journalists have stressed the connections between Russian-Israeli mafia tycoons, weapons and diamond smugglers, and terrorist networks associated with "Al Qaeda" and affiliated organizations. Yet, it is the much-maligned Brown, a one-time GOP operative and "golden boy," who has taken the initiative to call for Chertoff's firing and a complete overhaul of the Homeland Security Department. Even in these strange times, this is an amazing turn of events and begs the question of what Brown knows about Chertoff and his connections to Dubai and covering up terrorist investigations. Brown is in the unique position of being aware of Dubai's major role in horse racing (and possibly money laundering) and being briefed on various maritime and other terrorist threats as head of FEMA. Which means that Brown may have enough information to be very dangerous to the Bush crime family.

Chertoff is a long-time GOP political hack and neo-con operative. He was the Special Counsel for the Senate "Whitewater" Committee from 1994 to 1996, a costly effort to create a political scandal for President Clinton and Hillary Clinton where there was no scandal. Hillary Clinton, to her credit, cast the lone vote against Chertoff's confirmation as a federal judge in 2003. There is one thing that Hillary Clinton and Michael Brown agree on -- they both despise Chertoff. And with good reason.

Chertoff was the head of the Assistant Attorney General for the Criminal Division of the Justice Department in the lead up to and aftermath of the 911 attacks. It was Chertoff who ordered the FBI not to pursue Mossad cells discovered to be operating alongside the hijacker cells in northern New Jersey. With FBI and other field law enforcement reports on suspicious Israeli office "mover" activity in the New York-New Jersey area in the months prior to 911, Chertoff failed to order an investigation of why Zim-American Israeli Shipping Company suddenly terminated its lease of offices on the 16th and 17th floors of the North Tower of the World Trade Center, forfeiting a $50,000 deposit a week prior to 911 and moving its operations to Norfolk. Zim's parent company, Zim Israel Navigation Co, is half owned by the Israeli government. Norfolk's port operations are due to come under Dubai Ports World ownership if the buy-out deal is approved.

Therefore, it is no surprise that Zim's chairman wrote to Senator Clinton offering high praise for Dubai Ports World and revealed that Zim and Dubai Ports are "strong business partners." Zim's chairman also revealed that Zim's ships use Dubai ports but under different flags other than Israeli.


Chertoff: Derailed major investigation of Al Qaeda weapons smuggling in New Jersey. Was he protecting Israeli involvement in Al Qaeda financing activities?

Chertoff also failed to investigate the presence on the 33rd floor of the North Tower of the Trade Center of the Yemen Import Company, an office that, like Zim Shipping, had been cleared of all its personnel in the weeks prior to 911, leaving only an answering machine and a fax in place.

As Assistant US Attorney, Chertoff also declined to prosecute Dr. Magdy Elamir, an Egyptian-born neurologist in Jersey City who was implicated in an FBI/ATF arms trafficking investigation code named Operation Diamondback. It turned out that Elamir was a Chertoff's client in a fraud case brought against Elamir's HMO by the state of New Jersey. NBC's Dateline, on August 2, 2002 referred to a 1998 foreign intelligence report obtained by the network, "The report alleges that an H.M.O. owned by Dr. Elamir in New Jersey was 'funded by ben [sic] Laden' and that in turn Dr. Elamir was skimming money from the H.M.O. to fund 'terrorist activities.'" New Jersey investigators discovered that $15 million in funds from Elamir's HMO were unaccounted for and Dateline determined that some of the funds were transferred to off-shore bank accounts. Chertoff represented Elamir at the time the money was shifted to the off-shore bank accounts.

The weapons smugglers targeted by Diamondback also included those who were smuggling nuclear components to the A Q Khan network. It was this network that was a prime focus of Valerie Plame Wilson and her Brewster Jennings and Associates covert CIA operatives. On January 14, 2005, Dateline's Chris Hansen interviewed ATF agent Dick Stoltz, the supervisor of Diamondback:

“In the summer of 1999, a group of illegal weapons dealers were meeting at a warehouse in Florida, their conversations recorded by federal investigators. One of the men, from Pakistan, was seeking technology for nuclear weapons. Who did he say he was working for?

Dick Stoltz: “Dr. Abdul Khan.”

Chris Hansen: “A.Q. Khan.”

Dick Stoltz: “A.Q. Khan.”

Former federal undercover agent Dick Stoltz was posing as a black market arms dealer.

Hansen: “Did you realize what you had at the time?”

Stoltz: “No. We didn't.”

But now he does -- because A.Q. Khan is considered, by some, to be the most dangerous man in the world. Why? Because Dr. Khan has peddled nuclear weapons technology to some of the countries the United States considers most dangerous, and some accepted his offers.”

“Undercover federal agent Dick Stoltz says there's evidence Khan's operatives were at work here in the U.S., like a man who asked if Stoltz could supply heavy water, an ingredient used to make plutonium for nuclear bombs. Stoltz: “He said that Dr. Khan was handling the negotiations behind the scene, as far as -- the heavy water.”

Chertoff, in a major conflict-of-interest, abused his authority to cover up the involvement of his client in the Diamondback probe.


Now you are really doing a "heckuva job Brownie!" What does Brown know about Dubai and horse betting/laundering and Chertoff's covering for Dubai from his days as International Arabian Horse Association Commissioner?

Other than the Homeland Security Secretary's complete incompetence during Hurricane Katrina, why would someone like Michael Brown have special animosity towards Chertoff? Perhaps Brown's past job as Commissioner of the International Arabian Horse Association (IAHA) had something to do with his sudden call for Chertoff's firing in the wake of the Homeland Security chief's approval of the Dubai Ports World deal to take over operations at 21 U.S. ports. Close Bush family friend, the Emir of Dubai, Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid al Maktoum, is an avid horse racing fan and owner (as was the Emir's late father). Dubai is the venue for an annual thoroughbred racing event where millions of dollars changes hands in betting. Horse betting in Dubai is believed by law enforcement officials to be a major conduit for money laundering in the region -- something that must have been known to Brown as the oversight authority for the IAHA. In what could be the most dramatic outcome of the Bush criminal scandal, Brown's experience with the IAHA may prove embarrassing to Chertoff and the Bush criminal cartel as Dubai comes under sharper focus.

Dubai is also an important diamond center. And that brings us into Osama bin Laden's connections to the Israeli diamond trade. The following was sent to WMR by a journalist source who was in Peshawar, Pakistan in the weeks following U.S. intervention in Afghanistan. The information comes from a Taliban member who escaped into Pakistan:


"Osama left Afghanistan in a party of 26 people, mostly his family members, on November 4 [2001]. He left from the "south." [possibly southern Iran].

"This may surprise you, but you must understand the nature of business. A business partnership is based on years of trust, and it is totally separate from political or national loyalties."

"Osama, when he realized that he was trapped between the Northern Front and the US forces, called on an old business partner, who flew in his jetliner, and ferried Osama to Africa."

"Osama was a rich man, a millionaire, but spend a lot on the Afghan war and reconstruction. While he was in Africa in exile, the Israelis approached him to take over the diamond business from the Lebanese in West Africa. (background: Muslims provide the strong arm for the raw diamond trade in West Africa, and it required a respected and tough Muslim like Osama to wrestle the trade away from the Shi'ites from southern Lebanon. The Israelis could not stand the thought of their Antwerp diamond industry financing suicide bombers in south Lebanon)."

"With the diamond trade under his control, Osama became a billionaire (repeat), a billionaire . . . The diamonds were sent to the Russian mafiyah, who then sold to Antwerp."

(Antwerp, btw, was where the shoe bomber and countless other "terrorists" were financed and where AQ [Khan] money was being wired to New York via Hassidim diamond merchants.)

For building materials and equipment, Bin Laden's construction family routinely dealt with Jewish businessmen through Yemen. Since Saudis could have no direct dealings, the Bin Ladens used Yemenis, who lived alongside Jews in their Yemeni homeland. This is how Osama's father became so big.

"Inside Afghanistan, the Taliban were not anti-Jewish because the Pashtun tribe are one of the "lost tribes of Israel". Our customs and names are identical to those of the Jews. So there was no problem in fighting the Soviet occupation and then Shiite enemy, and Osama led this fight."


In fact, this communique from Peshawar is born out by the story of Ambuy Gem Corporation president Yehuda Abraham, who was arrested at his New York "Diamond District" office in 2003 for his involvement in a Russian shoulder mounted missile launcher smuggling ring involving a British national with ties to the Viktor Bout smuggling ring, Hemant Lakhani, and a Malaysian national believed to have ties to Jemaah Islamiya, the Al Qaeda affiliate in southeast Asia. Bout's smuggling network was partly based in Dubai. Abraham, a Bukharan Jewish native of Afghanistan who spoke Pashto and Urdu. An well-placed Israeli source told WMR that Afghan-born Jews are so rare, Abraham would "have most certainly been used as an agent by Mossad."

But Abraham, like Zim Shipping, had special dispensation under the Arab boycott of Israel. A U.S.-Israeli dual national, Abraham maintained a diamond store in the lobby of the Sheraton Hotel in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. His primary clientele: the Saudi royal family. It was also discovered that Abraham was operating a "hawalah" -- an Islamic money transfer network -- from his diamond business. It was that hawalah that was used to transfer money from the weapons sales out of the United States. Moreover, Osama bin Laden's diamond courier who fenced West African diamonds into the Hassidim-run Hatton Garden, London diamond district went by the very non-Muslim-sounding name of "Cyril Jacob." A former Mossad chief told this editor in 2002 that if one wanted to find the source for most of Al Qaeda's funding, you didn't need to look any further than West Africa's diamond trade and "the six biggest U.S. banks in New York."

In addition, Osama Bin Laden is reported to own a fleet of merchant ships, something that makes the Dubai Ports World deal and Chertoff's endorsement of it even more suspect. Some of these ships reportedly are registered to China White Lines and involve Sicilian mafia business fronts.

August 1993 Rashid bin Maktoum, the then-Crown Prince of Dubai opened a jewelry equipment manufacturers trade show in the emirate-- the show highlighted the equipment needed for stone cutting and other jewelry-making processes. Soon, Dubai rivaled Antwerp and Tel Aviv as a major diamond processing center -- a business in which Bin Laden is now heavily invested.

Dubai Ports World and Zim Shipping, Michael Chertoff and Osama financiers and A Q Khan smugglers, New York and London Hassidim diamond dealers and Al Qaeda and affiliated terrorist organizations are connecting more dots.

"...“Osama” could never be arrested or put on trial publicly. “Osama” is either not alive (not a real person), or if alive, a US asset who “knows too much." That would expose the “war on terrorism” lie, and the lie of 9/11..."

http://onlinejournal.com/artman/publish/article_563.shtml

Bush’s final propaganda card: the staging of an “Osama” capture

By Larry Chin

Online Journal Associate Editor

Mar 3, 2006

In the latest attempt to salvage his political scalp with an empty propaganda performance, George W. Bush paid a surprise visit to Afghanistan, where he posed and gloated with co-conspirator/puppet/US intelligence asset Hamid Karzai. “Liberated” Afghanistan, like “liberated” Iraq, is a hell of the Bush administration’s creation.

Bush then declared that he is “confident bin Laden will be brought to justice” and that “we've got U.S. forces on the hunt for not only bin Laden but anybody who plots and plans with bin Laden.”

Could Bush/Rove’s next trick be a spectacular “Bush gets Osama” event, similar to the never-authenticated arrest of Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, the “arrests” of other Al-Qaeda co-conspirators, or the farcical arrest and trial of former US intelligence asset Saddam Hussein?

Such a deception would temporarily slow a right-wing neocon mutiny, and silence congressional Democrats, who accuse Bush/Cheney of “not doing enough” to stop “terrorists," failing to “make us safe," failing to arrest Osama, and failing to “really” conduct the “war on terrorism." It would force Democrats to congratulate Bush for finally getting “public enemy number one," slink back to less aggressive posturing (the management of the “war on terror”), and say nothing as the mentally ill Bush beats his chest on his way out of the White House.

Alive or dead, real or fictional, Osama was, and remains, an asset of Anglo-American intelligence, as does al-Qaeda. Since 9/11, Osama videos and Osama transmissions, and false flag operations attributed to al-Qaeda, have exclusively served US geopolitical interests.

Note Bush’s intentionally vague words: “brought to justice." This is code for “killed," and/or sequestered a la Manuel Noriega. “Osama” could never be arrested or put on trial publicly. “Osama” is either not alive (not a real person), or if alive, a US asset who “knows too much." That would expose the “war on terrorism” lie, and the lie of 9/11.

A bogus arrest and execution of “Osama” would be one of last propaganda cards in Bush’s dwindling deck of tricks. In fact, only the naive could think Bush would be permitted to end his criminal presidency without that final fraud. It is probably a long-planned bookend to his reign, hatched at the same time as the rest of 9/11. Bush’s machine has simply been waiting until the last minute to unleash it.

The bad news for the Bush machine is that the potential for backfire and blowback is considerably greater than the possibility of success. Too much damage has been done for old damage control to repair. It may be over for Bush/Cheney, but the world war that they began, the hell on earth that they have created, rages on, out of control.

Copyright © 1998-2006 Online Journal

http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/030206A.shtml

Editor's Note: Ray McGovern and 15 others took action today in the halls of Congress. The 16 donned orange jumpsuits similar to those worn by detainees at Guantánamo Bay. They wore gags over their mouths decorated with one word - torture. Not another word needed to be said as they walked the halls of Congress. McGovern, a 27-year veteran of the CIA, also returned his Intelligence Commendation Award medallion which was given to him for "especially commendable service." He delivered the medal to Congressman Pete Hoekstra along with the letter below. --smg/TO

I Do Not Wish to Be Associated With Torture

By Ray McGovern

t r u t h o u t | Letter

Thursday 02 March 2006


Hon. Pete Hoekstra, Chair
House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence
Washington, DC


Dear Congressman Hoekstra:

As a matter of conscience, I am returning the Intelligence Commendation Award medallion given me for "especially commendable service" during my 27-year career in CIA. The issue is torture, which inhabits the same category as rape and slavery - intrinsically evil. I do not wish to be associated, however remotely, with an agency engaged in torture.

Reports in recent years that CIA personnel were torturing detainees were highly disturbing. Confirmation of a sort came last fall, when CIA Director Porter Goss and Dick Cheney - dubbed by the Washington Post "Vice President for Torture" - descended on Sen. John McCain to demand that the CIA be exempted from his amendment's ban on torture. Subsequent reports implicated agency personnel in several cases of prisoner abuse in Iraq, including a few in which detainees died during interrogation.

The obeisance of CIA directors George Tenet and Porter Goss in heeding illegal White House directives has done irreparable harm to the CIA and the country - not to mention those tortured and killed. That you, as Chair of the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, show more deference to the White House than dedication to your oversight responsibilities under the Constitution is another profound disappointment. How can you and your counterpart, Sen. Pat Roberts, turn a blind eye to torture - letting some people get away, literally, with murder - and square that with your conscience?

If German officials who were ordered to do such things in the 1930s had spoken out early and loudly enough, the German people might have been alerted to the atrocities being perpetrated in their name and tried harder to stop them. When my grandchildren ask, "What did you do, Grandpa, to stop the torture," I want to be able to tell them that I tried to honor my oath, taken both as an Army officer and an intelligence officer, to defend the Constitution of the United States - and that I not only spoke out strongly against the torture, but also sought a symbolic way to dissociate myself from it.

We Americans have become accustomed to letting our institutions do our sinning for us. I abhor the corruption of the CIA in the past several years, believe it to be beyond repair, and do not want my name on any medallion associated with it. Please destroy this one.

Yours truly,
Ray McGovern

Ray McGovern works for Tell the Word, the publishing arm of the ecumenical Church of the Saviour in Washington, DC. He was an analyst at the CIA for 27 years, and is on the Steering Group of VIPS.

http://www.antiwar.com/orig/browne.php?articleid=8626

March 3, 2006

I Love America. Do You?

by Harry Browne

Editor's note: Harry Browne, libertarian author and activist, died Wednesday, March 1, 2006. The following piece originally appeared on Antiwar.com Nov. 20, 2001. We reprint it in memory of this great friend of peace and liberty.

I love America.

I love every concept the Statue of Liberty stands for – that individual liberty is held above the objectives of government; that, as Washington and Jefferson said, America imparts good will toward all and threatens no one; that this country is so big-hearted and prosperous it can welcome people from all over the world fleeing oppression or poverty.

I love the Bill of Rights – the most noble document ever written to define the limits that government should obey.

I love the concepts of free speech, absolute privacy, and religious freedom embodied in our traditions and our Constitution.

I love the rule of law – the right of accused persons to confront their accusers, the right to an attorney, the right to remain silent, the right to refuse admission to government officials wanting to enter your home or office.

These are just some of the things that have made America unique in the history of the world. They are a direct cause of America's prosperity, of our security, of what makes America attractive to so many would-be immigrants.

The "Hate America" Crowd

Unfortunately, too many Americans seem to have little love for that America. They are quite willing to throw away the concepts I've described – in order to satisfy a lust for revenge against the September terrorists.

They're willing to abandon our cherished liberties – giving the government the power to do anything it wants. They assume – falsely – that such invasions of liberty and privacy won't affect them, even though the history of government demonstrates that what's applied against suspected terrorists today will be applied against innocent Americans tomorrow. They're willing to abandon free speech – wanting to shut up those who don't join in the rah-rah cheering as President Bush abandons the essence of what made America unique and great.

They're willing to abandon the rule of law and transform America into a police state – where any law-enforcement agency, military court, or intelligence agency can act as prosecutor, judge, and jury to decide your future.

They're willing to let innocent Americans die – by encouraging our government to bomb innocent foreigners at will, almost guaranteeing that there will be further terrorist attacks against us.

They're willing to continue transforming what was once a worldwide love of America into a hatred for America – caused by the correct perception that American presidents believe they can force any foreign nation to do their bidding.

They make no objection when congressmen pass bills – without reading them first or having any idea what's actually in them – bills that take away your liberties, pile more government debt on your family, and give the president the power to do whatever he wants, as though he were a Roman Emperor.

Words and Deeds

These people may not actually hate America. They may even profess to love America, but they show no understanding of what made America the precious nation it is. Here is what some of their sentiments amount to…

Contrary to the American respect for peace-loving people, they think our hurt entitles us to hurt others – even people who didn't hurt us.

Contrary to the American tradition of individual responsibility, they want to treat all Afghans as though they're bin Laden, and all Iraqis as though they're Saddam Hussein – making no distinction between the innocent and the guilty.

Contrary to the American ideal of individual liberty, they think freedom may be a nice concept but state security is more important.

Contrary to the American tradition of independent thought, they assert that questioning your government is unpatriotic, paranoid, and tantamount to treason.

Contrary to the distrust of government that marked the Constitution and the Bill of Rights, they think that – despite all the mistakes our government has made – allegiance to the Fatherland is your highest duty.

Contrary to the American way of good will toward all, they acknowledge that America is being transformed into an armed fortress, but say that's the price we must pay to be a superpower.

Those aren't the sentiments of people who recognize what made America the most attractive place on earth to live. But in the supreme irony, these people label those who protest against the destruction of American ideals "America-haters."

Where Do You Stand?

Do you love America?

If so, isn't it time you spoke out on behalf of America – before the president and Congress take away the rest of what made this the land of the free?

Or are you just as happy to see America transformed into one more bureaucratic warrior state, like so many of those in Europe and Asia?

I love America – the one symbolized by the Statue of Liberty – the America that was the beacon of liberty, providing light and hope and inspiration to the entire world. I want that America back.

The warmongers may say they're patriotic Americans, but they're willing to discard everything unique about America in order to satisfy their lust to avenge the September tragedy.

The desire for revenge is understandable. But the rush to permanently abandon the wonders of America to satisfy a temporary rage is not.

http://onlinejournal.com/artman/publish/article_554.shtml

Talking points and mobilization

By Frank Pitz

Online Journal Contributing Writer

Mar 2, 2006

Recently, one of my editors gently chided me for “ranting” and “raving.” To which admonition I responded -- inwardly -- with a resounding touché, since I do rail (silently) and, in print, against the plethora of rhetoric, and dearth of action-as it were.

So, I thought I’d talk about mobilizing, or rather get a discussion started regarding the subject at least. I suppose that for we progressives mobilization is sort of like talking about traffic, or the weather -- you know, the old “everyone talks about it . . ."

Seeing as to how action, for us, requires mobilization (and it is continually being asked rhetorically), why don’t we have the dedication towards mobilization? It is repeatedly pointed out that the fascists have both the dedication, and are mobilized. Just what the hell is wrong with us (progressives)?

Why is it that we cannot mobilize? I most certainly can give no definitive answer to that question? Most assuredly I can take a stab at it by offering theories and conjecture; but I honestly do not believe that anyone can answer that question, myself included. However, having experienced my share of the streets, I will offer this point for discussion: the biggest reason we don’t/can’t mobilize is that we are afraid. That’s right, we’re afraid of the USAPATRIOT Act; the Justice Department; the cops or whatever. We’re afraid of losing our ‘creature comforts,’ of losing our job, our friends, or something.

From where this progressive sits, that is the biggest damn problem regarding why we can’t mobilize; we’re too damn afraid of making a sacrifice. So we’ll talk the talk, rail against the inequities, tune in to Air America, watch LinkTV and pontificate. But we will not mobilize. There has to be enough of us out there, we need about 15 million. Just 15 million to sit on their progressive asses and not turn a dime, not trade a penny. Don’t bank, don’t pay, and just keep your hands in your pockets and boycott the capitalists for about two weeks. I mean, like, there are already some 40 million folks in this country who are living like that right now, and they are not doing it by choice! The corporate bloodsuckers continually increase the number of people in the poverty ranks and pretty soon we’ll all be joining them whether we want to or not. Then maybe, we’ll become mobilized.

Forty million plus people in this country -- the supposed land of plenty -- live in poverty. That’s almost 15 percent of the population people, the highest goddamn percentage in the developed world! Do you think that they are not sacrificing? We progressives need to be thinking about those 40 million people each and every day. They are all around us; from the hills of Tennessee to the streets of Miami, from Louisiana to the Great Plains. Every damn year since George W. Bush took office their number has grown.

Since Bush and Corporate Amerika began their assault on the poor in the United States, 6 million people have entered the poverty ranks. And the crime of it all is that many of these people have jobs, many of them hold down two jobs; just to maintain a poverty level in George Bush’s Amerika.

According to Bread for the World, 13 million children in the United States live in households that experience hunger. That’s one in 10 households in Bush’s Amerika. This is an increase of 1.4 million. And these numbers are a couple of years’ old. Are they sacrificing enough yet?

So back to mobilizing, one would think that we could put together 15 million progressives in solidarity with the homeless and hungry in Amerika, is that doable or not?

We could join them in the soup lines, under the freeway overpasses, in the hallways and doorways of this affluent country. We could march arm-in-arm down Wall Street, and into the offices of the corporate bloodsuckers. We could steal a page from history’s notebook and camp out on the banks of the Potomac until the politicians recognize our demands: health care for all, and for all a real living wage.

We could all join in a national boycott of Wal-Mart, Big Pharma, DuPont, Coca-Cola, ExxonMobil and every damn greedy corporate bastard of the Fortune 500. We could sing and shout, “We Shall Overcome” from the rooftops of K Street, into the corrupt halls of Capitol Hill. We could link arms and storm the White House gates in sheer numbers, and take back ‘the people’s house.’ All this we can do, and more.

But if we cannot do this; or until we can do this, I personally have drawn up Frank Pitz’s discussion topics -- or talking points if you will. Since a great many of you out there still hold out a deluded hope for change through the ballot box, even though the ballot box is rigged against us, I will join your ranks reluctantly, and with conditions.

Here’s the skinny from this revolutionary in the desert. Any progressive, liberal, democrat, radical, anarchist, Green, blue, red or other who wishes to garner my vote now and forevermore needs to pay attention to my talking points. In reality though, these points are much, much, more; they are conditions if you will.

These are the conditions under which I will give you my vote:

There will be an immediate, unilateral, unconditional end to the wars now being fought, financed by, of and for the United States.

All American troops in foreign lands will immediately be repatriated to the United States.

All wounded, maimed and psychologically damaged veterans will be ensured whatever level of medical and financial care they need for the rest of their lives; no strings, no hoops, no damn part A’s, B’s, C’s D’s, or any other stupid alphabetizing or acronymizing bullcrap.

There will never be another preemptive war, in my lifetime, my children’s lifetime, or my grandchildren’s lifetime.

There will be an immediate repeal/rescission of all the NAFTA, CAFTA garbage.

All American corporations who have moved offshore will be penalized at a rate of 20 percent of their before tax profits for each and every worker they have displaced, or other wise “downsized.” These funds to go into union health and welfare programs.

It will immediately become illegal for an American corporation to avoid paying taxes by establishing a P.O. Box offshore.

No corporate CEO will make more than 70 percent of the salary of his/her highest paid worker, annually.

Any worker who wishes to belong to a union can do so without fear of corporate or political reprisal.

There will be a national minimum wage of $15 per hour.

There will be single-payer health care for all, from cradle to grave.

There will be public financing of all elections in this country; local, state and federal.

There will be no lobbyists or other corporate shills writing or making legislation, on a local, state or federal level.

Every United States citizen will have the right to vote, and that includes every American citizen who may be incarcerated.

Pharmaceutical companies will be nationalized, and their prices and profits strictly regulated.

Within three years, every automobile manufactured or sold in this country will either be a hybrid or have a mileage rating of at least 40 MPG.

Within 10 years renewable energy shall comprise at least 35 percent of the United States energy portfolio.

Within 20 years, renewable energy shall compromise 60 percent of the United States energy portfolio.

All nuclear power will be phased out, and all current subsidies for that power will cease.

Every woman in this country shall enjoy freedom of choice.

Marriage as an institution in this country shall not be legislated to mean a union between one man and one woman. Marriage as an institution shall be open to any/all consenting adults regardless of sexual persuasion.

And more. . . .

Okay people, I suppose I could go on all night here, but you get the point. For those of you out there who want my vote, read all the above. For all of you out there who read this, send me, not the editor, your talking points/conditions to add to this list. If I can’t have a revolution, then I damn well want some candidates with cojones; be they male or female. I’m sick and tired of Republicans and Republicans. Aside from perhaps Russ Feingold, there ain’t a real damn Democrat out there. Okay gang, send me those talking points!

You can reach Frank Pitz (with your talking points) at fpitz76@hotmail.com.

Copyright © 1998-2006 Online Journal